A reconsideration of universal properties of tonal coarticulation

Although many languages show similar properties in tonal coarticulation, some languages examined recently exhibit properties against previous findings. This study performed statistical analysis including one-way repeated measures ANOVA with Greenhouse-Geisser adjusted values and linear mixed effects models to explore properties of tonal coarticulation in Nanjing Chinese. The results show similar magnitude in carryover and anticipatory effects, inconsistent with most languages examined, and the results for the H/L asymmetry in Nanjing Chinese are not consistent with the literature either. The findings in this study and other recent studies contrary to previous beliefs call for further studies to enhance our understanding of the universality of tonal coarticulation.